Derek Stingley may hold division rival Anthony Richardson back from reaching his full potential

The Houston Texans' young core of guys have been making waves all off-season. C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Will Anderson and more are constantly being talked about. One name that seems to be playing second fiddle in the conversations, but for no good reason, is Derek Stingley Jr. The Texans' ace cornerback had a massive year in 2023, bouncing back from a pretty unremarkable 2022 campaign.

Having seen what his potential is, and the ceiling that he could truly reach, many are excited to see if he'll hit that new mark in 2024. Stingley's most recent season has many thinking he can take the next step into stardom. One of his biggest supporters it appears is CBS Sports writer, Chris Trapasso. The football writer recently wrote an article picking several names that he expects will break out and become legitimate stars in this upcoming season.

The writer picked four names, TE Dalton Kincade of the Buffalo Bills, LB Jamin Davis of the Washington Commanders, Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts, and of course, Stingley of the Texans.

""...With a bolstered pass rush in Houston led by monster acquisition Danielle Hunter, and presumably the offense giving the Texans ample leads throughout the season, the cornerbacks are going to be in prime pounce mode for much of the year.

My prediction -- by the end of the 2024 season, it becomes a legitimate debate as to who's the better cornerback, Stingley or Gardner. ""

Stingley's pick by the author isn't shocking, but what is shocking was the CBS Sports writer picking Stingley and Richardson. Since their division rivals, they're going to play each other twice in a season, and since this article is about guys who can become Pro Bowlers, it seems like a lofty idea to suggest both men could or will.

If Richardson succeeds, it'll be in part due to his play against Stingley. Same with the Texans' quarterback. If he has a big year, it'll be in part due to how he played against the Colts. It seems unlikely that both men will reach the Pro Bowl, simply due to the competition the two teams will be engaged in throughout the season.

Sure, it's happened before, it's not impossible. Yet, with how poor Richardson looked in 2023 and how good Stingley looked, it's very likely that either one or the other goes and not the other. If we had to pick one, however, we'd go with the Texans cornerback who had a great year. Not the Colts quarterback who struggled some and then got hurt.